Articles tagged as Women's History | Smithsonian Magazine

Liliya Lifánova, Anatomy is Destiny (live performance at the Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis), 2012.

Cool Finds

Board of Sexism in Chess? Check Out These New Exhibitions

The World Chess Hall of Fame is showcasing the power of its women

February 8, 2016

Hospital Apprentices second class Ruth C. Isaacs, Katherine Horton and Inez Patterson (left to right) were the first black WAVES to enter the Hospital Corps School at National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD. Photographed March 2, 1945.

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Photographs Document Some of the First Black Women to Serve With the U.S. Navy

Black women were not allowed to join WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) until 1944

February 5, 2016

A spread in LIFE magazine highlights these women football players.

The Forgotten History of Women’s Football

Several women’s football leagues formed during the 20th century—one from the 1930s even became a national sensation—but they’re barely remembered today

February 5, 2016

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44 Years Ago, Shirley Chisholm Became the First Black Woman to Run For President

Chisholm saw her campaign as a necessary “catalyst for change”

January 29, 2016

Half of NASA's astronaut class of 2013 are women.

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Half of NASA’s Newest Astronaut Class Are Women

38 years after NASA hired its first female astronauts, four women are training to go to Mars

January 18, 2016

Suffragettes form a part of Emily Davison's funeral procession through London. She was a fellow campaigner who was trampled to death when, as a protest gesture, she tried to catch the reins of King George V's horse as it ran in the 1913 Epsom Derby.

Women Who Shaped History

The True History of Suffragette

Emily Wilding Davison was a tireless and ingenious activist for the cause of women’s suffrage in Britain

January 13, 2016

The pivotal accuser at the trials, Tituba, would go down in history as a purveyor of satanic magic. An 1880s engraving depicts her in the act of terrifying children.

Secrets of American History

Unraveling the Many Mysteries of Tituba, the Star Witness of the Salem Witch Trials

No one really knows the true motives of the character central to one of America’s greatest secrets

November 2015

Pacchanta's Maria Merma Gonzalo practices weaving techniques that have changed little in 500 years.

In a Small Village High in the Peruvian Andes, Life Stories Are Written in Textiles

Through weaving, the women of Ausangate, Peru, pass down the traditions of their ancestors

October 7, 2015

Justine Siegal pitching for the Cardinals during batting practice in 2011

Justine Siegal will be a guest instructor for the team

October 2, 2015

The design for Margaret Crane's prototype home pregnancy test kit was inspired by a transparent plastic paperclip container.

The Innovative Spirit

The Unknown Designer of the First Home Pregnancy Test Is Finally Getting Her Due

Margaret Crane says it was a simple idea, but it met with enormous push back

September 21, 2015

U.S. Army Spc. Amanda Vasquez, with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, salutes the flag in 2009.

After completing a grueling course, two women have proved they have what it takes to join the Army’s best

August 19, 2015

Could a crusade to bring historic women into the park change the face of the city?

July 22, 2015

Dorothy Arzner (left) poses with Clara Bow in a publicity shot for The Wild Party.

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Why Was One of Hollywood’s First Female Film Directors, Dorothy Arzner, Forgotten?

Arzner directed 20 feature films

July 13, 2015

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This Film Shows a Glimpse of Amelia Earhart Before Her Final Flight

After 70 years in storage, the footage shows the pilot posing for press photographs

June 10, 2015

Starting New York Giants catcher John Tortes "Chief" Meyers in an unspecified game against the female team in 1913.

Cool Finds

Amateur Women’s Baseball Teams Existed as Early as 1866

They typically challenged local a men’s teams to play

June 9, 2015

The washable knitwear c. 1950s suit by Claire McCardell resides in the collections of the National Museum of American History.

What a 1950s Fashion Maven Might Teach Us About What To Wear

When it was time to suit up for work, politics or social engagements, Claire McCardell’s fans embraced her chic, but comfortable style

June 8, 2015

"The Legal Justice League" celebrates the first four women to sit on the country's highest court.

Cool Finds

Celebrating the Women of the Supreme Court With LEGOs

What better way to hail the female trailblazers of the bench than miniaturizing them into tiny toys?

March 11, 2015

During the Civil War, a canal ran along what we now know of as the Mall

Meet the Madam on the Mall

Mary Ann Hall ran a successful brothel in D.C. for years, but it took a 1997 dig to tell the whole story

February 20, 2015

Cool Finds

South Korea’s ‘Women of the Sea’ Have Free Dived For Abalone Since the 17th Century

Diving supported life on the wind-scoured, rocky island of Jeju

January 30, 2015

The History of Faux Fur

For more than 100 years, the fine line between finks and minks has been blurred

January 22, 2015